Door-fastening device for swinging doors



Feb. 17, 1931. C JOHNSON 1,792,540

DOOR FASTENING DEVICE FOR SWINGING DOORS Filed Nov. 10, 1928 u r y z F/ 4 Z Invenlor:

Patented Feb. 17, 1931 UNITED? STATES PATENT) OFFICE V V FRANK cQJ nNs N, or ronrmma, MAINE r 7 noonernsrnmne nnvIoE non ,swfneme noons Application meanovembe'r 10, 1 928. semi No. 318,535.

In this type garage door it has been'the:

usual practice to supply, for door-holding means, the ordinary, short slide bolt, many diflerent designs of which'are now on the 10 market. a V b These boltsareusually attached to the door at the 'top and bottom, the ends ofthebolts engaging perforate plates secured in the door frame and in the sill. Theyserve' simply to secure the door when inclosed positionand are open to the objection that they seldom work freely, dueto binding in their housings, and the lower one requires that a person must stoop to operate it.

Iam aware of. he fact, too, thatin certain instances long bolts havelbeen employed for door fasteners, but while preferable to the short ones sofar as operating them is concerned, they lack certain characteristics which Ihave incorporated in my invention, thei'general objectof 'whichis toprovide a door fasteningbolt of generous length-one which can be handled conveniently, of the simplest construction and embodying a feature which transforms the bolt into a doublefunctioned element,+:-this feature, which is a specific object in itself, providing for a drillpoint end on and integral with the bolt. 1 I V The purpose for which thisdrill-point end is supplied in my fastener is to utilize the bolt tovcle'an out thesocket or hole in the door sill'or floor into which the bolt enters tovsecure the door. 5 e q In the summer time this socket frequently 4o fills withmud .or dirt and in the winter with ice or snow, and a bolt with an end as ordinarily made serves no useful purpose until thesocket is cleared of. its obstruction by some sharp or pointed instrument,the operation involving moreor less inconvenience doors thereof, the bolt being shown in its cathe other about to be opened;

. when a person is inthe aot of raising the bolt and loss of time on the part of the garage owner or operator. I s 7 With my present invention it is an easy matter to remove the mud or ice withwhich the hole is packed as the implement required is always at hand andcan be placedinstantly in correct position to do the work,-the ofi'set upper end ofthe bolt serving as a'convenient handle with which to oscillate the drill-point.

Another objectof my invention is touti- 5 lize the bolt as an anchor by which tohold openthe door, in this case the boltbeing pressed into the ground or into a hole made inv the cement or wooden platform. at' the. garage entrance. 'Should the ground be frozen or covered withioethe drill point is effective to make its own socket for holding purposes. i s To illustrate myinvention I have prepared the accompanyingdrawing in which similar reference characters identify like-parts in all views, and in which, i d

F ig. 1 is aperspective view of a garage showing my device installed on one of the pacityas an anchor to hold open the door; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the doors with the bolts attached, one door being shown locked,

Fig. 3 is a detail view ofthe drill-point end of: the bolt, shown superimposed over the floor socket; 7 f q 4 is a view of the point ata ninety degree' angle from that shown in Fig. 3, and

' Fig. 5 is a modified form of the drill-point.

Referring ,to the drawing, 1 represents the door of a garage, of which there may be one or more,;hung on thelordinar'y hinges 2. On the outer stile 3 of each door are secured two cleats 4 and reciprocable as well as rotatable iii-these is a drill-point bolt 5.

The lower of the two cleats is vpositioned at such a height from the floor that the bolt will notaccidentally be withdrawn therefrom to release the door, and the bolt itself made of such a length that the handle 6, which is an offset portion of the bolt, is of a convenient height for one to operate without stooping. The upper cleat and handle are spaced, relatively, to allow a large amount of downward movement of the bolt when employed as an anchor.

The handle 6 serves as convenient means by which the bolt may be oscillated when operating to clear the socket 7, which the bolt ordinarily engages to secure the door but which might have become plugged with ice or mud.

The location of the bolt when holding a door in closed position is illustrated in the case of the right hand door in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and when about .to open the door the bolt is disposed thereon as seen on the left hand one. i r

To prevent the bolt from dragging when swinging the door in either direction I provide a headed screw or stud 8 over which the handle 6 may be lifted and supported,the head of the screw preventing accidental displacement of the bolt.

i The lower, or cutting end of the belt may be made in either ofvarious forms, the one illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4having several features which commend it for the use to which it is to be put. Starting from a somewhat sharply pointed end, the nose is round ed and a broad, short flute 9 of generous proportions made on both sides of the bolt. This broad flute gradually converges into a much narrower one 10 but of ample length to take away the material when drilling into a plugged socket or making its own. The narrow flute preserves as much as is possible of the circumferential surface ofethe bolt, where it engages the socket, and tends to prevent its rapid wearing away; J

In Fig. 5 I show a modified form 'of drillpoint end, the nose being substantially semispherical but otherwise quite closely resembling the previously described drill-point except that a greater number of flutes are incorporated therein. I

In both designs of drilling-points, and in others which might be devised, one essential requirement is to have the cutting lips symmetrical so that the drill might be called double acting-that is, the point will cut when the bolt is rotated in either direction, thus practically doubling its cutting capacity.

One of the characteristic features of my fastener, taken in connection with the drillpoint end, is its ability to function as an anchor bolt to secure the door when open, obviating the necessityof providing additional hardware fixtures for this purpose.

In some instances garages are supplied with very wide entrance platforms or approaches constructed of either wood or cement. In these the sockets to receive the bolts are originally made, their radial distance from the pivotal point on the hinge being coextensive with the distance of the bolt therefrom, thus insuring proper registration of the parts. Some approaches, however, are narrow, and it is often necessary in order to provide sufficient passageway into the garage to swing the door outwardly of the ends of the approach.

In this latter case the socket, or more properly the hole must be made by the bolt itself, and in colder climates and in the winter season the ground is frozen and generally covered with ice and an ordinary blunt end, or even 'apointed end on the bolt will not suffice-to positively secure the door. Thus the availability of my drill-point bolt covers the situation very advantageously, as a few turns of the point is suflicient to provide a socket in the ice or frozenground.

lVhile it is not usually necessary, it is obvious that the fastener bolt might be wholly detached from its cleats onthe door and used as an independent drilling element in connection with making holes in frozen ground or ice, after first spotting the exact radius of therequired hole before removal of the bolt from the door. It would thus be possible to make complete revolutions of the drillpoint and the work of drilling might be shortened thereby.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. Ina device of the character described, adapted 'to be attached to the door of a garage, the combination of a bolt having its upper end off-set to form a handle, means to mount said bolt on said door so that it may be reciprocated and rotated in its mounting, and a drill-point on the lower end of said bolt capable of cutting a hole when rotated in said mounting.

2. In a device of the character described, adapted to be attached to the door of a garage, the combination of a bolt having an ofi-set portion on its upper end, cleats on said door, said bolt being reciprocably and rotatably operable therein, a socket on the floor of the garage adapted to receive said bolt to secure said door, means whereby said bolt may be secured on said door in disengaged relation to said socketwhen said door is closed, and a drill-point on the lower end of said bolt adapted to provide hole-cutting means by the rotation of said bolt in its mounting.

3. In a device of the character described, adapted to be attached to a swinging door, con'iprising in combination with a socket secured on the threshold of said door, a bolt adaptable of engagement with said socket,

means on said bolt by which to rotate it, a plurality of cleats on said door in which said bolt is reciprocably and rotatably mounted, means on said door to hold said bolt from engagement with said socket when said door is act:

\ closed, a drill-point on the lower end of said bolt adapted to out when rotated in either direction and clear said socket of an obstruction-When said bolt and socket are in alignment, and means provided whereby said bolt may, when said door is opened, be extended downwardly beyond its normal position when said door is closed and secured, and cut its own socket when rotated in its mounting in either direction.

In testimony whereofI affix my slilgnature.

FRANK C. JOI-I SON. 

